PBL is different from what most classrooms are like today because most classrooms today consist of a teacher lecturing and teaching students using notes and textbooks. Sometimes small projects are assigned, but those are mostly projects based on the information or topic they were just taught. Students are instructed to just restate the information given to them in a nicer format. PBL is a project with a topic that can go in any direction. Students can choose to research something that is of most interest to them. They start without knowing much on their topic and they make their own questions and find the answers which most of the time leads them to ask more questions. Teachers make rubrics that guide students to continue in the path that will have them learn the most of the topics chosen by the students. Students learn more with project based learning because they are constantly engaged in the topic of their choice.
As a student myself through middle school and high school I have never experienced project based learning. Even as a teaching credential student, I have not seen this in action at any of the schools I have visited. The closest thing to a big project I remember where I was really engaged was an assignment where a teacher told us that we had a million dollars and we had to try to spend it all in one day. He brought in newspapers and magazines (there were no individual laptops or chromebooks that we could use to research like there is now) and we had to find the things we wanted to buy i.e. a house, a car, etc. It was just supposed to show us that a million dollars is a lot and that it is hard to spend that much in one day (now a house can easily be worth that much).
I think PBL is a great thing, but it requires a lot of planning from the teacher side. Once it is planned though I think it would be very satisfying as a teacher to kind of step back and watch the students taking charge of their own education. The advantages of using PBL for our students would be that they would learn how to research, think critically, and work in groups to achieve one common goal. These are all skills that they will need no matter what type of job they get after their schooling. Some disadvantages to PBL could be that it causes stress for the students to perform at their best (especially when they have to present to their parents and other community members). Also some students don’t do well working with others and could cause some conflicts within groups.
The part of PBL that I found the most interesting is that the teachers are considered a resource and not the main source of information. The teachers guide students and provide them with the tools necessary to successfully research, create, and learn the topic that they chose.
Here are some pictures that explain PBL in a visual way.
Hello Nohemi,
I totally agree with much of what you wrote as far as a lot of educators using lectures and notes in a linear fashion for a class instead of PBL. I also experienced a similar situation in middle/high school which emphasized more individual assessment and memorization. There wasn’t as much connection between subjects and there wasn’t a lot of group work either. One of interesting things you described in your post was the format and planning of the PBL. The students are required to take on a larger role and have more accountability on themselves to make sure they are properly researching and carrying their part of the project. The teachers also have a big role as a facilitator to plan the projects as well to make sure they serve a purpose and are interesting for the students. I like how you mentioned the teacher is more of a resource for the students and not the main interaction source, which again in my opinion gives the student more responsibility.
LikeLike
Hello Nohemi, PBL is definitely different from what I remember from when I was in junior high and high school.
I really like the idea that students have the opportunity to learn how to research, think critically, and work in groups to achieve one common goal. So many jobs require collaboration and introducing the idea of how to create a research project or any project and be successful while working in a group should start early in a student’s education.
I think that it is critical that teachers are not the main source of information. Students today rely so heavily on the teacher to provide them with information even though the answers to the students’ questions are literally in the palm of their hand – whether it be a cell phone, tablet or computer. Students today have so much access to information and they should know how to use it and apply it to the task they are trying to complete.
LikeLike
I think it is interesting to see how different the technology is now versus 20 years ago. I remember in elementary and middle school I used computer that were black and white screens and used floppy disks. In high school we had the newly colored computers. I remember in 10th grade I was learning how to navigate the internet. Now, everyone is relying on the technology in their lives. Technology is a necessity now a days and teachers should embrace this knowledge. They should use PBL in the classrooms to encourage and teach the students on how to use technology to learn. This will teach the students how to benefit from technology and gain support from teammates. This will teach the students how to use technology and work with team in their future careers.
LikeLike
I love this! As educators it is important to make relevance to what we are teaching. If the subject or even learning experience isn’t relevant then we automatically lose the students who are having difficulty making what you teach applicable. The beauty of PBL is like what you said, it takes the lecture out of the class, and replaces it with peer-to-peer interaction! The student’s ultimately lead their own learning experience, and as an educator why wouldn’t we want to encourage this concept? I too agree that if there were more opportunities as a student to participate in learning strategies such as PBL our experience would definitely be more memorable. The overall goal as a teacher is to maintain student engagement so that the student can ultimately retain the information that is being taught. I have yet to implement this strategy myself, but I can not wait to begin!
LikeLike
Absolutely! It is vital to link material to it’s “relevance” and explain that it actually matters. If we fail to do so, the students will not see the need to learn the material or stay engaged. I know I have experienced this first hand! I do enjoy the methods behind PBL. I think it would be a fascinating alternative to the traditional way of teaching and am interested in seeing students in action. I would also like to see the growth over time between students who had primarily PBL teaching versus a student in the traditional school system. Not just their knowledge of topics, but their mannerisms, personalities and communicative skills would be exciting to monitor.
LikeLike
0 Pingbacks